VVCMCC BBQ at TJ's
Sunday, 2 December 2007
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At 10:30am the temperature was a mild 19 degrees C, 60% humidity, sunny, with hardly any wind at all. - PERFECT conditions! ... So I was very surprised that only 16 bikes had shown up for this 70km ride out to TJ Dunn's hideaway near Tarago.
The "Terribly British Day" was being held at the same time on the lawns of Old Parliament House, so three of our riders, Col Hill, Bill Lewis, and Adrian Whittaker had planned to go there instead of TJ's.
In previous years, the ride out to TJ's usually included a visit to the "Terribly British" event on the way. But this year, as it was not announced in the Events Schedule, and also the fact that most of the bikes that turned up for this ride were non-British anyway, it was decided that the remaining 13 bikes would go directly to TJ's.
At abut 10:45am, just before we were about to leave, Dick Holland noticed that the girder forks on his 350 Matchless had a broken strut, so he said that he would meet us out at TJ's, and rode it home to get a replacement bike. John Broad followed him for part of the way, and then caught up with us in Queanbeyan.
The Route went over Kings Ave Bridge, past Duntroon and the Airport, and into Queanbeyan via Yass Road, turning left onto the Kings Highway and through to Bungendore for a brief regroup (Geoff Duddy managed to sneak in a refreshing ale), then continued east on the Kings Highway, turning left onto Goulburn Road at the Doughboy turnoff, following this road for exactly 7 km and then turning left into Barnet Drive and continuing for another 2 km to TJ's. A total of 70km.
On our arrival TJ and Jenny were ready for us with cheese platters and cups of tea and coffee.
Geoff and Lyn Nicholas brought along some of the Club BBQ supplies.
While the BBQ was being fired up, it was a chance for everyone to do a bit of exploring. There's always something interesting to look at around TJ's property.
It was only about ten minutes after we arrived when Dick turned up on his replacement bike, a Yamaha XVS 1100 cruiser! He certainly didn't waste any time getting there.
At about 1:30pm after everyone had eaten their fill of snags and cakes, it was time to make a move. The temperature was now up to 25 degrees so a few of the riders stopped in at the Bungendore pub for an ale on the way home.
Many thanks to TJ and Jenny for their hospitality (and all those cakes), and to Geoff and Lyn Nicholas for their help. And also thanks to Pole for driving the Backup trailer, which fortunately, was not needed on the day.
- Steve Keough
ROLL CALL
| Name | Year | Machine |
| Dick Holland | 1940 | Matchless 350 |
| Col Hill (start only) | 1948 | Ariel KH |
| TJ Dunn | 1958 | BMW R60 |
| Bill Lewis (start only) | 1959 | BSA Super Rocket |
| Steve Davey | 1969 | Triumph T120 |
| Peter Wilson | 1972 | BMW R75/5 |
| Steve Keough | 1972 | BMW R75/5 |
| Geoff Williams | 1972 | Ducati GT 750 |
| Richard Stanfield | 1977 | Honda CB400 |
| Glenn Tankard | 1977 | Suzuki GS400B |
| John Broad | 1979 | Yamaha SR500 |
| Geoff Duddy | 1981 | Kawasaki Z 750 |
| Lorraine Litster | 1986 | BMW K75 |
| Simon Whittaker | 1987 | Honda GB 400 |
| Ernie Seary | 2001 | BMW R1150 RT |
| Annemie Claerhoudt | 2005 | Yamaha XVS 650 |
| Adrian Whittaker (start only) | 2007 | Triumph Thruxton |
| Geoff & Lyn Nicholas | Supply Truck | |
| Pole Bland | Backup Trailer | |
| John & Jeff Somerville (start only) | Avalon (car) |